Rayudu's decision comes after he was overlooked as a replacement player for Vijay Shankar at the 2019 World Cup © AFP

Middle order batsman Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday (July 3). The 33-year-old Rayudu represented India in 55 One day Internationals, scoring 1694 runs at an average of 47.05 and featured in six T20Is too. Rayudu has also had a long IPL career - representing two of the most successful franchises in Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

"I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to the decision to step away from the sport and retire from all forms and levels of the game. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and all the state associations that I have represented which include Hyderabad, Baroda, Andhra and Vidharbha," he said in a statement.

"I also would like to thank the two IPL franchises MI and CSK for their support. It has been an honour and privilege to have represented our country. I would like to thank the captains I have played under, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and especially Virat Kohli, who has always shown great belief in me throughout my career with the Indian team.

"It has been a wonderful journey of playing the sport and learning from every up and down for the last 25 years at various different levels. Finally I would like to thank my family and all the well-wishers who have been with me throughout this wonderful journey."

Rayudu was expected to be in the initial World Cup squad as the No. 4 batsman but his dwindling form leading up to the tournament put him out of favour. Vijay Shankar took his place in the squad, leaving Rayudu in a bit of a limbo as he'd recently retired from first-class cricket to concentrate on his white-ball form ahead of the World Cup.

Rayudu's decision comes after he was overlooked as a replacement player following Vijay Shankar's injury. India had also called up Rishabh Pant to replace Shikhar Dhawan earlier in the tournament, while the team opted to bring in Mayank Agarwal as Vijay's replacement.